A World War II bomb explodes at an airport in Japan.

An American bomb, possibly dropped during World War II, exploded near the runway of Miyazaki Airport in southern Japan this Wednesday. Although no injuries were reported, the incident caused chaos and flights were cancelled, as the air terminal remained closed for hours.

The explosion occurred around 8:10 a.m. local time, when firefighters received a report of an explosion that was heard in the vicinity of the airport. Police asked the air terminal staff to vacate the area.

Local officials and the airport operating company proceeded to inspect the site and found a A hole approximately 7 meters in diameter and one meter deep. On the road leading to the landing strip, the EFE agency reported.

Video captured by security cameras shows a plane taking off from the runway just seconds before the explosion and a few meters from the explosion.

Although no one was injured, the explosion caused serious problems. According to the airport operator, the runway had to be closed and a total of 66 flights scheduled for the day were cancelled. Air connectivity will resume normally only on Thursday.

The Japanese Self-Defense Forces dispatched an explosive detection and disposal unit to the airport to investigate the incident. According to acting spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi at a press conference, together with other competent authorities, they determined that the explosion was caused by “an unexploded American-made bomb”.

Although the official did not provide further details, Japanese media suggest it is almost certainly a device that remained in place after the explosion. Launched by the US Army almost 80 years agoSimilar to other projectiles found over the years in this airport area.

Found them on a taxiway Two bombs of 50 and 250 kg in 2011 It is believed to have been launched by the United States military during World War II. Another explosive was found in 2009 During some works near the airport, which was built on a former airfield of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

A Japanese spokesman said the incident was under investigation to determine how the bomb exploded, adding that “there is no risk of another similar explosion” in the area.